It might be a small world, but there are still plenty of pockets of remoteness. This tournament reminds us of it every four years. What, for instance, do we really know about Paraguay? More worrying for England, can the fans be confident that Sven-Goran Eriksson has made them his specialist topic? The tournament has its surprises and I should have got it into my head that the qualifiers were not to be taken too seriously.
I am writing this with the telly on in the background and Ecuador are beating Poland 1-0. This is the same Poland who were a matter of minutes away from topping the qualification group ahead of England. It is legitimate to wonder how good Eriksson's team will turn out to be. I have been as positive about England as a person can without buying face paint, but no one knows for sure that this is going to be better than the last World Cup or Euro 2004.
Apologies for banging in print on about England mustering one victory in the last nine opening matches at major tournaments, but it's probably more than a statistical quirk. The side keeps on having a mistaken faith that they will get by despite their little flaws.
England, even now, lose an awful lot of goals for a team with grand ambitions. So will the back four gel this time? And while we're about it, was David Beckham's fine work last week just a trick of the light against opponents hand-picked for their feebleness?
And will Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard thrive individually and as a partnership? Might Peter Crouch just get exasperated by the know-how of Paraguay's Carlos Gamarra? If he does, is Michael Owen actually in condition to do damage anyway?
I happen to believe that the answers will mostly be positive. But I am much further from knowing for sure than if this game had just been another fixture on the European circuit. I love that. This is what the World Cup is for, to bring us up close to the unexpectedness that still exists in defiance of the internet and satellite TV.
